Crist endorses Obama (Updated)

8/26/12 12:28 AM EDT

His hug of President Obama got him in trouble during his senate run as a Republican, and now former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is making the most of it, endorsing the president in a Tampa Bay Times op-ed in which he excoriates his own former party, and further stokes the suspicion on both sides that he is setting himself up for a future run:

As Republicans gather in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney, Americans can expect to hear tales of how President Obama has failed to work with their party or turn the economy around.

But an element of their party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims.

The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.

Pundits looking to reduce something as big as a statewide election to a single photograph have blamed the result of my 2010 campaign for U.S. Senate on my greeting of President Obama. I didn't stand with our president because of what it could mean politically; I did it because uniting to recover from the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes was more important than party affiliation. I stood with our nation's leader because it was right for my state.

President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. That's what makes him the right leader for our times, and that's why I'm proud to stand with him today.

Crist, now a registered independent, makes the case that Chicago has pressed on just how dire the situation was almost four years ago when the president took office. He also gets a Todd Akin reference in there, for all the current points Democrats are using to frame Mitt Romney.

What's more interesting about this move, which is not quite a shock, is the frequent and ongoing rumors about Crist running for governor again, only as a Democrat. He doesn't make any revelations about his own plans here, but if Obama wins Florida, this would be a handy thing for Crist, whose original consulting team is with Romney, to point to having done - and supporting the Democratic president is sort of a half-measure toward announcing as one himself.

The downside for Crist is, much like the start of the convention, this will not get the pop it might have without the storm heading toward Florida.

Alex has the disgusted response from Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry to an "ambitious" Crist here. And still more here from the RPOF, including a roster of times when Crist disagreed with and/or criticized Obama, arguing this is a political calculus as opposed to a principled moved.